Mal.
Present Day.
Evie: I know you're worrying. Stop it
Mal: Once again, I thought the dress code was ballgown
Evie: It's a suggestion. No ones going to say anything when you're you
Mal: I don't want to do this
Evie: We've been over this M. What's the worst that could happen? There's no dancing
Mal: He ignores me. He doesn't. Peach poofballs. We fight in front of a million people
Evie: This would all go away if you two got your shit together…
Mal: E…we've been through this
Evie: Then you need to accept there is a peach poof ball in your future.
…
"You know," Maleficent drawled casually, adjusting Hades' suit as they waited for the courtier to announce their entrance, "I heard they aren't doing the courting portion of the ball. So odd for a kingdom obsessed with securing the line to the high throne."
"Hmm," Mal hummed noncommittally, adjusting her tiara in the mirror by the door to the ballroom. It was the same in every castle. In every hotel. At every event. Mirrors were everywhere. Just in case. After a few years, Mal finally understood EQ's obsession. They were everywhere in this world. And it was the perfect opportunity to avoid her mother's questioning.
"You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?" Hades added, smirking at her from between her mother's horns. It was so…domestic. Mal wished she still found it weird. Instead, she wished she was brave enough to ask them how they made it work again.
Hades' grin widened, showing his teeth, and Mal fought the urge to roll her eyes at his meddling father display. "We haven't seen much of Ben recently."
Turning to face him, the snarky retort died on her lips when she noticed the excited glint in his eyes. The one that said chaos was only moments away. She stopped, panic rising in her chest ever so slightly as she wondered just what kind of chaos she was about to walk into, and instinctively reached into the air for answers.
Huh. She didn't feel anything. Odd.
Mal frowned, paused, then looked back to her parents. Her father looked like he was about to laugh, and Maleficent definitely knew what he was anticipating. Deciding it was better to let them have their moment of chaos, Mal simply rolled her eyes.
Hades cut an intimidating figure in his midnight blue suit, so dark it was almost black. But all she could see was the teddy bear she'd learned her father was. Sure, he was the God of the Underworld. Sure, he arranged punishment for those who deserved it and herded the souls to their final resting places.
But he was her dad. He was the one who made her brownies when she was feeling sad, who sat outside dressing rooms dutifully guarding her shopping bags.
He was the one who pushed her buttons about the guy she liked.
Gone were the days where she still didn't quite believe that this was real. She accepted now that she didn't have to fight for the scraps of his attention. That she didn't need to do anything but exist to be worthy of his love.
But she was still working on the other scars of the Isle.
The nightmares still came, albeit infrequently.
She still found herself trying to be everything for everyone. Altering her behaviour to better compliment those around her. She still didn't quite believe that she wasn't about to be found out and sent...well she didn't know where, because fear wasn't logical.
It was half the reason Hades railed on her about Ben. He knew she was holding back. He was pretty sure he knew why. So he'd just needle away at her until she realised she was allowed to have nice things too.
Yeah, like Ben would ever really want her.
He'd made that perfectly clear when they'd fought last week.
You don't get to be pissed when you're not my girlfriend!
They'd been in an on again, off again, mutually beneficial arrangement since high school. A situationship. Ben was the poster boy for goodness. If he wanted something permanent, that traitorous little voice in her head that sounded like Gaia whispered, he'd have made it happen already.
She conveniently ignored the fact that, once upon a time, he'd tried just that. And she'd brushed him off. Hadn't wanted to taint him with her past.
And the fact that, until last week, they were basically in a relationship without the label. That he'd been showing her how he felt for years, but he'd been letting her take the lead.
Fuck you too, I'll just show myself out shall I?
She knew he wasn't seeing anyone else. Ever. Cancelling the courting portion of the night after their argument was more evidence that, just maybe, he felt the same way she did.
Or maybe, he finally put his foot down about hating dancing. Because why would it have anything to do with you, her grandmother's voice added in a whisper. And Mal accepted its explanation.
Because it made sense. She was just Mal from the Island. Lost Girl who happens to be a demigod. As if the second part somehow negated the first.
Before Mal could get too caught up in her self-deprecating thoughts, a courtier gave them the signal that they were about to be announced. She gave herself a quick once over in the mirror. Evie had changed her gown at the last minute. Originally, she was wearing a gown that looked suspiciously like a wedding dress, except for the colour. The new gown was sleek and slinky and fit like a second skin. Underwear was not an option. As per Olympian protocol, she was wearing her fathers midnight blue instead of her own purple as it was a formal event. Her father had pulled a new tiara from the vault for the occasion - a diamond fringe tiara shaped like a halo. The wall of diamond was a bit more ostentatious than she was used to - she preferred the vine and snake styles.
But if Evie was changing the plan to put her in a fitted dress when she knew Auradonian custom dictated ball gowns…she was going to stand out anyway.
She looked...good. Almost like someone who could be a Queen.
Mal heard the thud of wood against the marble floor and the dull shout that preceded their arrival. They were the last guests to be announced before the High King and Queen. The protocol for these events was all the non-announceable guests arrived first. Then the host. Then all the announceable guests in reverse order of status. Then, finally, the king and queen of the host kingdom - if they weren't the hosts themselves.
The order and sequencing of these events was normal to Mal now. Last to enter, first to dance. No one wanted to insult the gods. Or Maleficent.
The doors swung open and she kept a winning smile on her face.
It didn't matter that she felt broken inside. That she'd cried more in the last week than she had in her life. That the concern on her mother's face told her that the day she'd feared was finally here, and there wouldn't be another on swing.
That she did not want to turn the corner and come face to face with the man who could never be hers.
This was being broadcast live to all of Auradon. Pictures would be on all the gossip blogs within minutes. She had to do this.
If Audrey could face Chad...she could face Ben.
The crowd fell silent when they entered, as they always did in the presence of her parents. Mal nodded to a few friends. Evie was grinning watching her creation come to life, even if she did look a little manic. Carlos gave her a thumbs up and Jay looked...like he wanted popcorn?
Mal kept the confusion off her face, but it only deepened when she picked up on Doug's sheer terror.
She kept moving, smiling at Jane. Her friend's eyes widened at the deviation from ballgown...and Lonnie was trying to warn her about something?
Before Mal could stop to chat - she was the second highest ranking being in the room, she could stop whatever she damn well pleased - she was herded around the corner to where the major royals were congregated. Adam and Belle would be arriving in a few moments, and-
And then she saw what Lonnie was trying to warn her about.
Her gaze found Ben as it always did in crowded rooms. He was down by the thrones, watching her enter, and judging by the way his eyes had darkened, hinting at the Beast inside, he approved of her outfit. A grin lit up his face when he saw her, as if they'd never argued, and he took a step towards her.
Ben was looking at her like she was the only thing that mattered.
But that wasn't what caught her attention.
It was the blonde in the peach coloured dress touching his arm.
But Ben's lifeline...she didn't know. Although, she didn't really want to know either. Her heart wouldn't survive the vision of Ben with some blushing blonde bride whose family colour was peach.
"Hey," Mal jumped when Ben's arms wound around her waist from behind. She'd been so caught up in imaging him with some peach coloured poofball, she hadn't heard him coming in.
It had to be fucking peach.
Her eyes flashed green.
No one touched her things.
...
"I knew they were sleeping together!"
Mal was vaguely aware of the gleeful exclamation from Emperor Kuzco before Yzma, his guardian turned advisor - swiftly elbowed him in the side. It was enough to make her spin on her heel, away from whoever the girl was and back to her father.
She needed to get out of here.
She needed to summon her mother's Sceptre, go over there and whack Princess Peach over the head with it.
She needed to get outside, find her wings and fly.
She needed to steal some souls.
She needed to crush-
"What have I said about making threats of violence in public." Hades warned when he caught sight of her glowing eyes and thunderous expression. The ends of her hair were starting to flame, enough to hint at the fury lurking just under the surface. His voice took on that hard edge that reminded her he could reign her in with an Order if it came to it.
"Not to." Mal ground out, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. She was surprised when she heard her mother snap the same words.
She focused on controlling the flames first, on turning off the dragon eyes and the demigod glow. Her inner dragon was screaming to be let free. And she wasn't entirely convinced that she wasn't going to let it off it's leash.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw her murderous thoughts reflected on her mother's face. Hades had one hand on her shoulder and another on her waist, and Mal noticed the subtle glow that said he was restraining her magic as well as physically holding her back.
But sometimes, Mal thought angrily, her mother's methods seemed entirely reasonable.
She was descended from a being who had arranged for her husband to be castrated by his son, godammit. What was the harm in a little miaming and cursing, really?
Mal growled.
Hades seemed far too calm for someone who'd just spotted his daughters on-again off-again not-boyfriend with someone else and was holding back his homicidal wife.
Which loosely translated, meant he'd worked out more about what was going on than she did, and Mal just had to be smart about what kind of fit she threw. No channeling her mother and cursing the people who dared touch her stuff. She needed to be careful. And calculated. She needed to be like Aud-
"Her name's Adele. She's one of Melody's cousins on her mom's side." Speaking of Audrey, she suddenly appeared at Mal's shoulder with two glasses of champagne. She handed one over smoothly as she continued her casual briefing.
"She's been there for the last ten minutes. Ben can't shake her and no one's been introduced since because when they took Aladdin and Jasmine up, she just stood there like she belonged." Audrey paused, throwing a dazzling smile at some charity donor who passed by, then continued on, "Press is already speculating. I will help you throw a drink in her face. And his. Ben is an idiot. Here I thought he was finally getting out of his own way."
"I think I'd rather barbecue them." Mal growled, the flames appearing in her hair again.
She spotted movement by the door and knew they were moments away from Belle and Adam being announced. She couldn't deal with the peach puffball until after that.
"I can get behind that." Audrey shrugged, throwing a glare down towards the thrones. "That shade of peach is a crime on the eyes."
...
"You can't hurt your cousin."
Mal felt the Order shoot down her spine like a bolt of electricity. Her eyes flashed blue as she threw Hades an angry look.
There were certain perks that came from being the head of an Olympian bloodline. He could pop in and out of her mind for a private chat whenever he liked. She could be his eyes and ears and no one would ever know.
But he could also give an Order, and she'd have to follow it. No matter what, she'd be compelled to obey until he lifted it. They weren't used often, not in peacetime, and the only time Mal had experienced it was when she was a kid and he'd made her tidy her room just to prove he could.
Her fathers voice in her head was softer when he was sure the Order had taken. "Ben isn't the only one who needs to get out of their own way."
Used to carrying on two conversations at once, Mal kept talking out loud to Audrey as she snapped at her father, "Oh, like you did?
It was petulant and childish. But so were her fears. It didn't matter how far she'd come. Some days she was still the scared little girl whose mother was a monster and whose father didn't want her.
Even if she could scare off Adele, how long would it be before Ben decided he didn't want her too? And then what would she be left with? The path to turning into the mother she grew up with? No. It was better like this.
"You forget the only Story you can't see is your own." Hades sounded so calm in her head, he didn't even break stride in his whispered conversation with Maleficent. Talking her down, by the looks of things. Mal was starting to think her parents hadn't known the details of what they were walking into, just that it was a fixed point in time. "You won't make our mistakes. You're perfectly capable of making your own."
Mal huffed in her head, and she heard Hades roll his eyes. His back was to her, but she knew exactly what look he'd be giving her if he could. "Your mom left me, Mallie. Not the other way around. You think I don't know where you get the urge to run from your feelings from?"
Mal fought the urge to stomp her foot and scream.
She really was her mother's daughter.
Mal was suddenly hit by the memory of Maleficent storming into the market, right before they came to Auradon. Storming right up to Hades' souvlaki stand and knocking something to the ground. Your existence irks me.
Mal grinned.
She was her mother's daughter. And now it was time to act like it.
…
Once Adam and Belle were announced, it was clear to everyone in attendance that they were shocked by the girl standing by Ben's side. Adam looked like he did not approve. Belle kept shooting Mal glances full of motherly concern.
Adam didn't even acknowledge Adele as he and Belle took their thrones. The girl looked confused, and Mal took some sick pleasure in imagining what the media circus had said about that.
Mal knew Ben's parents liked her. Adam had even started including her in House of Beast business, starting with the K20 Summit. At the time, Mal had told herself it was because she was the only girl around, of course they'd assume she was his Story.
But with her father's words ringing in her ears, she thought maybe everyone else saw something she couldn't.
She tried not to think about the fact that such public support from Adam and Belle meant they approved of her. Because if they approved, she could have done this years ago. Or at least after the K20.
She wondered if they'd still approve after she threw a godly temper tantrum.
The minute the party really started - although Mal didn't know how these things worked without the dancing - she stalked up behind her prey.
"Hey Bennyboo," Mal sang as she silently appeared behind Ben's shoulder. There was no magic involved, just Isle experience. Ben, to his credit, didn't react. He just turned to her with a smile, and then face went completely blank when he clocked her cold expression.
She didn't need to know his emotions to know that was his oh shit face.
She wasn't even looking at him. She was glaring at Adele. The other girl gave her the standard Olympian oh is this yours smile that the nymphs were known for, and Mal fought the urge to bare her teeth. Adele couldn't know about Hades' Order not to hurt her, and she should be far more worried about facing down a vengeful demigod.
"Mal, this is-" Ben started to introduce them, his tone placating, but Mal cut him off with a snarl.
"Adele. Granddaughter of King Triton. My cousin, by the way. Social climber." She spat the word like it was an insult, and Adele took a step back in surprise. Then Mal turned to Ben, dropping her mask completely. She sent him a look so inviting, she was surprised he didn't burst into flame right there. But then that was part of why she loved him. He could keep up with her. "I'll see you later on."
She waited a beat, until she saw his eyes darken with want and his hands twitch as if he was going to reach for her, before she dropped a kiss on his cheek and chirped, "Love you!"
Then Mal switched her attention back to Adele, fixing her with a dangerous smile, "It was nice meeting you!"
And then she stalked off, grabbing a glass of clear liquid from Jay's hands as she passed.
Time for phase two.